In The Know: News, updates from Greenville area businesses and nonprofits
Upstate Event, Workshops Aimed At Young Professionals
PIQUE, Ten at the Top's premier event for young professionals, will return Oct. 2 with workshops, round table discussions, and keynote speaker Bea Wray.
The event will be from 1 to 5 p.m. at Milliken & Co., 920 Milliken Road in Spartanburg. A reception will follow. Tickets are $25.
Workshops include: “From Idea to Enterprise: Unleashing Entrepreneurial Potential”; “Igniting the Entertainment Industry's Growth in the Upstate”; a panel discussion about cultivating a skilled and diverse workforce in the entertainment ecosystem, presented by Dr. Gail Awan, president and CEO of the Urban League of the Upstate; “Intergenerational Communication: a Conversation” with Kambra Parker, founder of The YoPro Know, and moderated by Julia Levi, Habitat for Humanity Greenville.
For information, go to Ten at the Top’s website.
Nine Merline & Meacham Lawyers Recognized As ‘Best’
Nine attorneys from Merline & Meacham were selected by Best Lawyers for inclusion in the 2024 Best Lawyers in America. Four of the attorneys were named Lawyer of the Year.
Best lawyer lists are based on peer-review evaluation. Lawyers do not pay a fee to be listed.
The following four attorneys were recognized as Lawyer of the Year in their respective practice areas: Robert E. August – Corporate Law; Keith G. Meacham – Litigation and Controversy-Tax and Nonprofit/Charities Law; David A. Merline Jr. – Tax Law and Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law; Marie Monroe – Employee Benefits.
The following attorneys are listed in the 2024 Best Lawyers in America for these specific practice areas: Robert E. August – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Corporate Law, Litigation and Controversy – Tax, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates; Phillip Martin – Tax Law and Trusts and Estates; W. Verne McGough, Jr. – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Litigation – Trusts and Estates, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates; Keith G. Meacham – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Litigation – Trusts and Estates, Litigation and Controversy – Tax, Nonprofit / Charities Law, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates; Andrew D. Merline – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates; David A. Merline, Jr. – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Corporate Law, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Litigation – ERISA, Litigation – Trusts and Estates, Litigation and Controversy – Tax, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Nonprofit / Charities Law, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates; Marie Monroe – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Nonprofit / Charities Law, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates; J. Aaron Nelson – Litigation – Trusts and Estates and Trusts and Estates; Douglas B. O’Neal – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates.
Merline & Meacham P.A. focuses on tax, estate planning, trusts and estates, and corporate and business transactional law. Founded in 1970 in Greenville, the firm now has an additional office in Cayce.
Steve Sumner Named DUI ‘Lawyer Of Year’
Greenville attorney Steve Sumner has been named 2024 Lawyer of the Year for DUI/DWI Defense in Upstate South Carolina by Best Lawyers. It marks the ninth consecutive year Sumner has been included in The Best Lawyers in America.
Best Lawyers lists are based on a peer-review evaluation. Lawyers cannot pay a fee to be listed. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers "the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”
Sumner & Todd was named Best Law Firm 2022, Tier 1, for DUI Defense by U.S. News & World Report. Sumner co-owns the firm with Scott Todd, who joined in 2020 and became a partner in 2022.
Sumner opened his practice in 1997 with a focus on defending clients accused of DUI, felony DUI, driving offenses, and drug cases. He represents clients in 25 courts in Upstate. He was a state court prosecutor from 1992 to 1994.
Countybank Insurance Division Names Senior Vice President
Countybank of Greenville has named Jennifer Hincapie as Senior Vice President, Senior Commercial Lines Executive for Countybanc Insurance.
Hincapie comes to Countybank with more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry. She will be responsible for assisting with insurance sales leadership and marketing commercial insurance solutions.
Hincapie most recently served as Vice President for Relation Insurance/Furman Insurance Agency. She also has experience as an insurance broker and commercial lines underwriter.
She serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Cyber Academy of South Carolina, is on the advisory board of YMCA Camp Greenville, is chair of the Better Business Bureau, and is on various boards associated with United Way of Greenville County.
Founded in 1933, Countybank has locations in Greenwood, Greenville, Simpsonville, Greer and Anderson. In addition to deposit and loan products, Countybank provides services through Countybanc Insurance Services Inc., Countybanc Investment Services Inc., Countybank Mortgage, Countybank Trust Services, and its affiliate, Greenwood Capital.
ScanSource Appoints Board Member
ScanSource Inc. in Greenville, a hybrid distributor connecting devices to the cloud, has appointed Vernon J. Nagel to its Board of Directors. The appointment expands the board to nine members.
Nagel brings executive leadership, financial and accounting expertise to the board. He served as executive chairman of Acuity Brands Inc., a publicly traded industrial technology company in 2020. From 2004 to 2020, he was chairman and chief executive officer of Acuity Brands; he was president from
2005 through 2019. He joined Acuity Brands in December 2001 as executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Nagel is a member of the Board of Directors of The AZEK Co., a provider of sustainable outdoor living products, and Southwire, a private, family-owned provider of wire, cable and other electrical solutions.
Lima One Executive Honored
HousingWire has named Lima One Capital’s Chief Operating Officer Rankin Blair as one of the Top Insiders in the mortgage industry for 2023. Lima One is headquartered in Greenville.
In the past year, Blair has successfully led the on-time, on-budget implementation of a loan origination system; led the creation of a new operations department and custom web portal to support Lima One's new lender finance sales channel; helped build and launch an operations center in Irvine, California; and reorganized Lima One's 70-person underwriting team.
Meanwhile, he continued to oversee an operations team that delivers customer service and loans at record levels for the company.
Blair joined Lima One in 2013. He leads the company’s loan production and technology infrastructures. He joined the executive leadership team in 2014 and became COO in 2022. He is a veteran.
HousingWire’s Insiders program recognizes individuals in the real estate and mortgage industries. Since its inception in 2011, Lima One Capital has funded over $8 billion in loans for real estate investors who build, improve, and stabilize neighborhoods across the nation.
LGBT+ Chamber Presents ‘Gayla’
The Upstate LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce is hosting its second annual Pride in Business Awards Gayla from 6 to 10 p.m. Oct. 5 at the Zen event space, 924 S Main Street in Greenville.
The event will recognize the work done to support the LGBTQ+ community in the Upstate. Formal attire is requested.
The Upstate LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce exists to meet the needs of the community and improve the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals through programming and events. For information, go to Upstatelgbt.org.
Ten At Top Hosts Blues, BBQ At Bridgeway
Ten at the Top will host Blues, Brews and BBQ, an outdoor networking event, from 4 to 7 p.m. Sept. 18 at Bridgeway Station, 1000 Via Corso Avenue in Simpsonville.
Tickets are $30. The event will include unlimited food, drink, and live music from Roots & Dore and Mac Arnold and Plate Full O' Blues. For information, please go to Ten at the Top’s website.
Simpsonville Women Host United Way, Prisma
The Simpsonville Area Chamber of Commerce Women's Impact Network will meet from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Oct. 3. The sponsor is Prisma Health. The featured organization is the United Way of Greenville County. The event includes coffee, networking, and giving back to the community.
Simpsonville Chamber To Meet In Downtown Greenville
Simpsonville Area Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours, hosted this month by Kara Dowers and Primerica Financial Service, will meet from 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 28. The event will include networking, drinks, and light refreshments at 355 S Main Street in downtown Greenville.
Meeting Focus On Simpsonville
The Simpsonville Area Chamber of Commerce Lunch & Learn will be from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 26. The program will be delivered by representatives of the City of Simpsonville, who will give updates about pending projects in Simpsonville's downtown, City Park and municipal facilities.
Uplift Outreach Hosts Upstate Queer Youth Prom
The Uplift Outreach Center is sponsoring the Upstate Youth Queer Prom for LGBTQ+ youth from 4 to 8 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Citizens & Southern Event Center, 148 W. Main Street in Spartanburg. The free event is open to youths ages 12 to 20 years old. Free parking is available a block away at the Magnolia Street parking garage. The event will include food, entertainment and a photo booth.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: In The Know: News, updates from Greenville area businesses and nonprofits